Moving Windows 8.1 from SSD to HDD

[kylepont]

Yes, you did read the title correctly. Basically, I'm not satisfied with my Samsung 840 Evo, and want to refund it. Would migrating the programs and Windows (because my personal data is already on the HDD) be a simple copy-pasta job, or would there be more to it?

 

[Quarkzquarkz]

Never get Evo, always stick with Pro. Good luck!

 

[kylepont]

The Evo is good, I have no complaints with the performance. I've just had to make some compromises with the rest of my computer to get it to work. In addition to having to take ages to reinstall every bloody game, my optical drive now won't work as my SATA cables aren't long enough to accommodate all three. So that's annoying. Also, the FX-8350 heatsink makes an unbearable racket, and my case is *just* too small for a CM Hyper 212 Evo, so I think I'd rather watercool and then overclock, so then there will be some bottlenecks, but at least my computer won't sound like a jet engine.

 

[Y0GI]

You won't be able to copy/paste a Windows installation. For that you'll need disk cloning software. Free version should be available on your HDD manufacturer's website.

Before cloning, create a new partition on the HDD to receive the data and to preserve your existing personal files on the HDD. If there is no free space on your HDD to create the partition, simply go into Disk Mgmt. and right click on the existing partition and select "Shrink Partition" in order to free up space. This should create some "Unallocated Space" on the HDD. Right click on this space and select "Create New Simple Volume" and that will partition and format the new space. Don't worry about the drive letter. The cloning software should assign "C:" to your new Windows partition.

Good luck!

Yogi